Voltage regulators of the switching type have been developed but these have various shortcomings which affect their usefulness. These devices usually employ a circuit such as a Schmitt trigger which is utilized to detect the variation in the output potential and in turn control an electronic switch which selectively interconnect an unregulated direct potential source with a "flyback" energy circuit. This flyback energy circuit comprises a choke across which is connected a diode and storage capacitor. During a power cycle current will be provided to a load through this diode via the choke and when the inductive energy of the choke decreases below a certain value the storage capacitor will then take over and start to discharge through the load. However, it is relatively costly to use a flyback energy circuit and its use adds to the complexity of such switching regulators. Furthermore, such a choke generates radio frequency interference or "spikes" thereby requiring relatively costly transistor components.